Did all CP16's have a compression post?

[NateD]

I am the third owner of an '81, and when I bought it there was no compression post. The rubber mat that covers the cabin sole (keel cement) does not have a hole in it, and there isn't anything on the coach roof that would the post would connect to. I've seen pictures of both older and newer CP16's that had posts in them, am I missing mine or was there a period when they weren't used?

Whether or not it came from the factory this way, should I put one in just for the added integrity?

[daryl81]

My 81 has a post that bolts to the storage ledge in front of the berths. There is no fixture on the cabin roof. The bolts are accessed through a screw in port in front of the post. Hope this helps........

[doug]

I don't have the answer, but I would call Com-pac they are very helpful

doug

[romei]

I have an 81 and mine has a post.  All of the other 81's I've seen have a post.  I can't believe that they'd send one off the line without it.  You could prolly sail just fine without it but I'd think it would flex here and there perhaps in heavy gusts or when messing about on the deck.

I'd be putting something in.  Actually, I'd prolly design something rigid that went across the inside of the cabin roof with a support coming down on each side to open up the cabin space a bit more.  Think of it the way house builders frame a doorway.

[Craig Weis]

Nate D
No Com-Pac Compression post ever sat directly on the poured cement keel.
The reason is every hull/deck combination is a wee bit different in height and in order to maintain a careful and accurate fit every post is lag screwed to the plywood bulkhead between the quarter births and the vee births.

So that usually is about 3~4 inches above the keel. And all have a small inspection/installation hatch in front of the post under the vee birth cushion..   ADDITIONALLY    is a small inspection hatch under both quarter births for wiring and one can see just how close the Q-birth is to the hull. A mere 3 to 4 inches. No good for storage. I checked. Also the boat's hull number is hand written and glassed over in this starboard side area so when she comes apart in a Typhoon the wreckage can be identified. Just kidding about the heavy weather.

I have noticed and not done anything about it but my lag screws have the slightest 'push' downward indicating some force from the mast. This may have been before I bought my boat [hull #588, 1996]; I say this only because I don't sail with any fwd, stern or side shrouds made so tight that 'the water is squeezed out of them'. Fore and aft tight rigging will want to push the mast clean through the bottom of the boat. And I sail with my mast straight up and down. not canted fwd to avoid weatherhelming.  If she's that far gone you already lost control of the boat, it's fun but it's not fast nor efficient.

As a matter of fact the stern standing rig is only tight enough to keep the Harken '0-0' furler tight enough so she doesn't have a curve to it. And on any tack the upper/outer and lower/inner shrouds going to the bottom of the spreader is taught on the windward side while only the upper/outer shroud on the lee side is taught and the lower/inner shroud is loose on the lee side.

Fwd and aft stays that are really tight just want to push the mast through the bottom of the boat.
skip.

[kickingbug1]

 my 81 has a post and i expect its there for an important reason---there is more on that little mast than you know

[Craig Weis]

Every 15 lb push on the sail = 1 lb push at the keel.
So math guys, a 2000 lb boat at 5.4 knots needs to move ? lb water, and to move that ? water the sail needs to see ? lb push from the wind.

By the way there is no such thing as 'renewable' energy.
It's either SUN or Nuclear.

skip.

[KPL]

Actually the Sun is nuclear......

I guess at that level it's kind of a chicken or egg proposition.  The sun (or big bang) created all the heavier elements, hence uranium------So it's the sun.  But then again, without nuclear fusion, there'd be no sun.....

[Craig Weis]

True. Nuke or Sun same difference.
General stuff read in Blind Man's Bluff. Stuff like this...
It's the molten nuke center of the earth that makes the heat that blows Old Faithful...etc.
Some 13 foot of sea water = 1 foot of lead stopping the nuke leak.
Just don't say renewable is;
wind
water
solar
bio
waves
tides
seaweed
ethanol
hydrogen
electric
food oil for diesel, can't think of a better way to kill a diesel.
no cold fussion or fusion

These are just alternatives, not creations of energy.

All these above follow the natural loss of energy, called Entropy, a balance against energy. Breaking things down to there simplest forum or to the least molecular movement.

Given enough energy you could collect the light, heat, smoke, ash, gases and once collected reconstruct the match just burned. But before burning, the match had energy. After burning it became entropic. It used up it's energy. So it went from an orderly assemblage of molecules to a scattered disarray of molecules having a 'dead' energy level of stagnate molecule movement, or molecules no longer pure.
Sorry I digressed. skip.

There is over a 100 billion tons of dissolved gold in the world's oceans, given enough energy expulsion one could collect this gold. You'd have to spend far more then it is worth in energy.
skip.

[B.Hart]

  I recently cut out the inner part of my cabin roof and removed the rotten wood, including the wood in the mast step. When removing the compression post,  the carrage bolt in the bottom was very bent and rusted. I replaced the bolt with a stainless one. when the post was removed I noticed the cabin top was very flexy without the post. I would be scared to use the boat without a good structure under the mast, also the mast step has a long screw the goes through the step into the post. Hope this helps.  BILL

[Steve Ullrich]

Nate - What did you end up doing about the post?

[NateD]

I haven't done anything yet. I have not noticed any flex in the cabin roof. I'm going to get on the water tomorrow, and plan to watch closely, although it sounds like others have evidence that their posts do come under pressure, so even if I don't notice any flexing, I should still add one back in. The condition of my interior keeps getting worse and worse. After our trip to Mille Lacs (and all of the stress I put on the boat that week), I noticed some rips/cracks developing in the fiberglass that attaches the chain locker board to the deck (hull looks fine, just the joint between the board and hull). There is also a lot of soft wood/fiberglass in the forward storage area. I really need to just strip the interior down to the hull and redo it, I'm planning to add the post back in then for sure. I really like the look of the interior without the post, but if I should have one, then I'll get one back in there.

[Steve Ullrich]

The absence of a compression post might be causing the hull to twist a bit when your sails are under a load.  That might be at the root of the forces that are ripping the tabs free that hold that v-birth in place.  Be careful Nate.

I haven't done anything yet. I have not noticed any flex in the cabin roof. I'm going to get on the water tomorrow, and plan to watch closely, although it sounds like others have evidence that their posts do come under pressure, so even if I don't notice any flexing, I should still add one back in. The condition of my interior keeps getting worse and worse. After our trip to Mille Lacs (and all of the stress I put on the boat that week), I noticed some rips/cracks developing in the fiberglass that attaches the chain locker board to the deck (hull looks fine, just the joint between the board and hull). There is also a lot of soft wood/fiberglass in the forward storage area. I really need to just strip the interior down to the hull and redo it, I'm planning to add the post back in then for sure. I really like the look of the interior without the post, but if I should have one, then I'll get one back in there.